Oceanside may do study to pave the way for developing agricultural land

OCEANSIDE  Oceanside may look into what it would take to support development in the mostly agricultural northeast corner of the city, called Morro Hills, the City Council decided at a meeting Wednesday.

As the price of water and regulation associated with agriculture have added economic pressure, some Oceanside farmers there are wondering what to do with their land if they decide to get out of the business. Oceanside will next year update city plans regarding sewer, water and drainage infrastructure throughout the city.

The City Council voted 3-2 to give contractors the option of including Morro Hills in the study, so city officials can compare prices for the report and decide whether it’s worthwhile to look into a study on infrastructure for the area. Councilmen Jerome Kern, Gary Felien and Jack Feller supported the matter and Mayor Jim Wood and Councilwoman Esther Sanchez opposed it.

“These people are trying to make a living and every year they get more and more regulation,” Kern said. “I don’t blame them for saying let’s look to the future.”

Sanchez said she wouldn’t support the study because it could be expensive and would be a burden on taxpayers.

More than 25 spoke on the matter at the City Council meeting, the majority opposed the plan put on the agenda by Councilman Jack Feller.

“We want to continue farming,” said Mike Mellano, a farmer who owns swaths of farmland there. “It’s not that we don’t want to continue farming, it’s that we do not believe that we will be able to continue farming.”

He said regulations at the state, federal and international levels have prompted him to look for another use for his land.

Members of the public speaking at the meeting opposed the idea for a variety of reasons, such as the need to protect Oceanside’s agricultural history, the jobs sustained by agriculture, the desire to preserve the rural character of the land and not wanting to saddle Oceanside taxpayers with the cost of doing such a study.

From a satellite view, Morro Hills stands in stark contrast to the gray lines of roofs throughout the rest of the city.

“You’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars to do this (study), and that should not be done on the backs of taxpayers,” said Dennis Martinek, a planning commissioner speaking as a Morro Hills resident.

Many supported keeping the current regulation, which allows one home per 2.5 acres.